Method and system for providing web content in virtual reality environment

ABSTRACT

In rendering, on a virtual reality (VR) space, web content loaded from a publisher, after an object having a tangible characteristic is selected in the web content, an area for a user input is displayed as an area corresponding to a corresponding object with respect to each object.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2020-0075917 filed on Jun. 22, 2020, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field

The following description relates to a technology for providing webcontent in a virtual reality environment.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the existing browsing environment, each of a service provider thatoperates media for providing services and a third party serviceprovider, that is, an external service provider, writes and usesinformation on users using its own cookies. For example, the third partyservice provider exposes information suitable for a user in real timethrough the media of the third party service provider using programmaticbidding or real-time bidding (RTB) based on information obtained throughcookies.

However, in the case of a virtual space, there is a problem in that itis difficult for a third party service provider to effectively collectand check information of the experiences of a user because all theexperiences of the user are performed in an environment focused on thesupplier of a specific virtual space. Accordingly, in a conventionaltechnology, the third party service provider merely exposes commoninformation to an unspecified number of users regardless of theactivities of users in a virtual space or merely provides relatedinformation to users based on information external to the activities ofthe users in a virtual space, such as the profile of a user.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT NO

-   Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2002-0007892

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments provide a method and system capable of providing web contenta virtual reality (VR) environment.

Embodiments provide a method and system capable of using web content inan individual object form not the concept of a window in a virtualreality environment.

In an aspect, a method performed by a computer device includesrendering, by at least one processor included in the computer device,web content loaded from a publisher on a virtual reality (VR) space,wherein rendering the web content includes selecting an object, having atangible characteristic, in the web content, and displaying an area fora user input as an area corresponding to a corresponding object withrespect to each object.

According to an aspect, selecting the object may include selecting thetangible object using a tag breakpoint for an individual object unit.

According to another aspect, selecting the object may include groupingobjects related to the user input into a single object when the objectsare contiguously present within neighbor areas.

According to still another aspect, displaying the area may includegenerating area information for the user input for each object andhighlighting the area corresponding to the object based on the areainformation.

According to still another aspect, the method may further includeproviding, by the at least one processor, a focusing movement functionwithin the area corresponding to the object.

According to still another aspect, providing the focusing movementfunction may include highlighting an object where an input focus of auser is located among the objects.

According to still another aspect, providing the focusing movementfunction may include moving the focus to a location corresponding to theinput focus through auto-focusing in response to a movement of the inputfocus of the user.

According to still another aspect, providing the focusing movementfunction may include performing auto-focusing based on an individualobject sequence on a code or an individual object location on cascadingstyle sheets (CSS).

According to still another aspect, providing the focusing movementfunction may include performing auto-focusing using a metadata tagincluding a priority of an input to a tag to which a user input ispossible.

In an aspect, there is provided a computer program stored in acomputer-readable recording medium in order to execute the method in thecomputer device in association with the computer device.

In an aspect, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium inwhich a computer program for executing the method in a computer deviceis written.

In an aspect, a computer device includes at least one processorimplemented to execute computer-readable instructions. The at least oneprocessor is configured to render web content loaded from a publisher ona virtual reality (VR) space, select an object, having a tangiblecharacteristic, in the web content, and display an area for a user inputas an area corresponding to a corresponding object with respect to eachobject.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, content on the webin a virtual reality environment can be provided in an individual objectform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network environmentaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing spaces according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movement between spacesin a virtual world according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relation between elements configuringa space in a virtual world according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a digital object isconfigured in a space in a virtual world according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic form of a virtual spaceconfiguration system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of internal elementsof a virtual space management system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of web content according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process ofrecognizing a tangible object for web content according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a tangible object for web contentaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example a focusing movementprocess on a tangible object according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 13 to 15 illustrate examples of auto-focusing based on a movementof the input focus of a user according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure are describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network environmentaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 illustratesan example in which the network environment includes a plurality ofelectronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140, a plurality of servers 150and 160, and a network 170. The network environment of FIG. 1 is anexample for the description of embodiments, and the number of electronicdevices or the number of servers is not limited to those illustrated inFIG. 1. Furthermore, the network environment of FIG. 1 illustrates anexample of environments which may be applied to the present embodiments,and an environment which may be applied to the present embodiments isnot limited to the network environment of FIG. 1.

The plurality of electronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140 may bestationary devices or mobile devices implemented as computer devices.The plurality of electronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140 include asmartphone, a mobile phone, a navigation device, a computer, a laptopcomputer, a terminal for digital broadcasting, personal digitalassistants (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a tablet PC, etc.In FIG. 1, a shape of a smartphone is illustrated as being an example ofthe electronic device 110. However, in embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the electronic device 110 may mean one of various physicalcomputer devices capable of communicating with other electronic devices120, 130 and 140 and/or the servers 150 and 160 over a network 170substantially using a wireless or wired communication method.

A communication method is not limited, and may include short-distancewireless communication between devices in addition to communicationmethods using communication networks (e.g., a mobile communicationnetwork, wired Internet, wireless Internet and a broadcasting network)which may be included in the network 170. For example, the network 170may include one or more given networks of a personal area network (PAN),a local area network (LAN), a campus area network (CAN), a metropolitanarea network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a broadband network(BBN), and the Internet. Furthermore, the network 170 may include one ormore of network topologies, including a bus network, a star network, aring network, a mesh network, a star-bus network, and a tree orhierarchical network, but is not limited thereto.

Each of the servers 150 and 160 may be implemented as a computer deviceor a plurality of computer devices for providing instructions, code,files, contents, or services through communication with the plurality ofelectronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140 over the network 170. Forexample, the server 150 may be a system that provides services (e.g.,services based on a virtual space, an instant messaging service, a gameservice, a group call service (or voice conference service), a messagingservice, a mail service, a social network service, a map service, atranslation service, a financial service, a settlement service, a searchservice, and a content provision service).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer device200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of theplurality of electronic devices 110, 120, 130, and 140 or each of theservers 150 and 160 may be implemented by the computer device 200illustrated in FIG. 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the computer device 200 may include a memory210, a processor 220, a communication interface 230, and an input/output(I/O) interface 240. The memory 210 is a computer-readable recordingmedium, and may include permanent mass storage devices, such as a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM) and a disk drive. In thiscase, the permanent mass storage device, such as a ROM and a disk drive,may be included in the computer device 200 as a permanent storage deviceseparated from the memory 210. Furthermore, an operating stem and atleast one program code may be stored in the memory 210. Such softwareelements may be loaded from a computer-readable recording medium,separated from the memory 210, to the memory 210. Such a separatecomputer-readable recording medium may include computer-readablerecording media, such as a floppy drive, a disk, a tape, a DVD/CD-ROMdrive, and a memory card. In another embodiment, software elements maybe loaded onto the memory 210 through the communication interface 230not a computer-readable recording medium. For example, the softwareelements may be loaded onto the memory 210 of the computer device 200based on a computer program installed by files received over the network170.

The processor 220 may be configured to process instructions of acomputer program by performing basic arithmetic, logic and I/Ooperations. The instructions may be provided to the processor 220 by thememory 210 or the communication interface 230. For example, theprocessor 220 may be configured to execute instructions receivedaccording to program code stored in a recording device, such as thememory 210.

The communication interface 230 may provide a function for enabling thecomputer device 200 to communicate with other devices over the network170. For example, a request, a command, data or a file generated by theprocessor 220 of the computer device 200 based on program code stored ina recording device, such as the memory 210, may be provided to otherdevices over the network 170 under the control of the communicationinterface 230. Inversely, a signal, a command, data or a file fromanother device may be received by the computer device 200 through thecommunication interface 230 of the computer device 200 over the network170. A signal, a command or a file received through the communicationinterface 230 may be transmitted to the processor 220 or the memory 210.A file received through the communication interface 230 may be stored ina storage device (the aforementioned permanent storage device) which maybe further included in the computer device 200.

The I/O interface 240 may be means for an interface with an input/output(I/O) device 250. For example, the input device may include a device,such as a microphone, a keyboard, a camera or a mouse. The output devicemay include a device, such as a display or a speaker. For anotherexample, the I/O interface 240 may be means for an interface with adevice in which functions for input and output have been integrated intoone, such as a touch screen. At least one of the I/O devices 250,together with the computer device 200, may be configured as a singledevice. For example, the I/O device 250 may be implemented in a form inwhich a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker, etc. are included in thecomputer device 200, like a smartphone.

Furthermore, in other embodiments, the computer device 200 may includeelements greater or smaller than the elements of FIG. 2. However, it isnot necessary to clearly illustrate most of conventional elements. Forexample, the computer device 200 may be implemented to include at leastsome of the I/O devices 250 or may further include other elements, suchas a transceiver and a database.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing spaces according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates a physical space (PS) 310,that is, a space in the real world, and a virtual space (VS) 320, amixed space (MS) 330 and a digital twin space (DTS) 340, that is, spacesin a virtual world.

The space in the virtual world may be designed by a supplier (i.e.,service provider) of the virtual world or may be configured by a user ora third party service provider, that is, an external service provider.The space in the virtual world may be configured in the form of the VS320, the MS 330 and/or the DTS 340 depending on a feature of the space.The VS 320 may be a pure digital-based space which may be associatedwith a cyber physical system (CPS). The DTS 340 may be a space is a realworld-based virtual space and associated with the CPS. The MS 330 may bea space in which the VS 320 and the DTS 340 are mixed. The MS 330 may beprovided in a form in which an agent, that is, the object of a user, isadaptive to an environment of the real world or may be provided in aform in which an environment of the real world is rendered on thevirtual world.

The space in the virtual world is a concept of a basic virtual spacewhere the agent of a user may behave. A policy for the activity,information utilization and/or exposure of an agent may be present foreach space. If the agent of a user uses services in a specific space ina virtual world, the user needs to recognize that each piece of personalinformation and privacy & terms are present depending on the subject ofservice provision.

The space in the virtual world may be variously generated and useddepending on a supplier or a user. To this end, a separate gate may beprovided as an interface for a movement of an agent between spaces inthe virtual world.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a movement between spacesin the virtual world according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates a gate #1 430 for a movement between a VS#1 410 and a VS #2 420, that is, two virtual spaces. In this case, thegate may be a basic interface for providing a movement between spaces inthe virtual world. The gate may also control a movement between a spacein the virtual world and a space in a non-virtual world, in addition toa movement between spaces in the virtual world. For example, FIG. 4illustrates that the agent of the VS #1 410 may also move to a movementtarget as a space in a non-virtual world, such as a web page, astreaming channel, streaming content, a game environment, or an actualoffline video call. A method of distinguishing between spaces in thevirtual world may be determined by the supplier of a space in thevirtual world.

The agent may mean a user or program in the space in the virtual world.In this case, an agent as a program has a form of an artificialintelligence agent, and may be a virtual avatar or persona present inplace of a third party service provider. A physical characteristic of aspace in the virtual world to which an agent belongs may be applied tothe corresponding agent. A service profile set for the space in thevirtual world may be applied to the agent. Furthermore, the agent mayhave a characteristic based on information of a physical device used bya user. For example, the agent may have a viewing angle based on adisplay characteristic of a physical device used by a user or may have acontrol characteristic based on the controller of the correspondingphysical device.

Furthermore, a digital object to be described hereinafter is a coreelement that configures world information in a space in the virtualworld, and may collectively refer to objects that provide a mutualinteraction function with an agent.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relation between elements configuringa space in a virtual world according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which adigital object is configured in a space in a virtual world according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates that a space 500 in a virtual world, such as the VS320, the MS 330 and/or the DTS 340 described with reference to FIG. 3,may include a digital object 510. In this case, the digital object 510may be formed in an object area (OA), that is, an area including thespace 500 in the virtual world. Furthermore, the digital object 510 mayinclude a display object (DO) 511, an interaction object (IO) 512, a webobject (WO) 513, and a streaming object (SO) 514. Each of the DO 511,the IO 512, the WO 513, and the SO 514 may optionally include a displayarea for the display of content.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which digital objects are deployed inOAs 610 to 640 formed in a space 600 in a virtual world. In this case,the digital objects may include DOs 651 to 654, that is, displayobjects, IOs 661 to 663, that is, interaction objects, a WO 671, thatis, a web object, and/or an SO 681, that is, a streaming object. Each ofdotted-line arrows 691 and 692 illustrated in FIG. 6 illustrates anexample of a traffic line along which an agent may move.

As in the example of FIG. 6, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, digital objects having various forms may be present in thespace in the virtual world. Each of the digital objects may be generatedbased on an agent according to predetermined conditions. In this case,the digital object may be generated on the object area. If the space inthe virtual world simulates the real world like a DTS (e.g., the DTS 340in FIG. 3), the location of the object area may be determined based on apredetermined physical location of the real world. For example, if aspecific shopping mall, a historic site, etc. in the real world isvirtualized, the location of an object area may be determined to havethe same configuration as an actual location.

The display object (DO) may be an object exposed to the space in thevirtual world in a spatial form (or structural form), and may provide asimple control function to an agent. The interactive object (IO) may beexposed to the space in the virtual world in a spatial form, and may bean object having an interactive feature and capable of interacting withan agent. For example, the IO may provide various interaction featureswith an agent. Furthermore, the web object (WO) may be an object havinga form in which content on the web is exposed through the space in thevirtual world. Furthermore, the streaming object (SO) may be an objecthaving a form in which streaming content, such as video or audio, can becontinuously exposed.

The OA may have a spatial feature capable of generating a digitalobject, that is, a virtual object, in the space in the virtual world.The digital object present on the OA may basically have the followingfunctions. Whether to provide each of the functions may be determinedbased on a contract between the owner of the digital object and thesupplier of the space in the virtual world.

1. Agent Association-Related Function

1) Interaction function: a function for providing an interface which canbe directly controlled by an agent

2) History function: a function capable of tracking and storinginformation related to the visit and interaction of an agent

3) Interest information storage (favorite/like) function: a functioncapable of storing information of a digital object interested by anagent

4) Follow me function: a function of making a digital object on the OAfollow around an agent by making the digital object small windows or anicon

2. External API Association-Related Function

1) Function capable of sharing information on timing at which a digitalobject is generated and terminated in the space in the virtual world

2) Interface function for providing, to the outside, agent-relatedinformation collected by digital objects on the OA

3) Interface function for representing information on the DO or the IOby incorporating real world information (e.g., a function forrepresenting information, such as order waiting in an actual store,congestion within a store, or a parking condition)

3. Gate Association-Related Function

1) Gate connection function: a function for connecting an agent toanother VS or PS in a digital object present on the OA

4. Display Area (DA)-Related Function

1) DA function: this is an area where content may be exposed by theowner of a digital object depending on the owner's intention, and may beexposed to an agent.

2) Display content request function: a function capable of receivingexternal content through a real world content control module

A DO and an IO are some of elements that configure the space in thevirtual world, and may be present on the object area (OA). The DO andthe IO basically appear in a form in which they are displayed on ascreen of a user, and may have characteristics of a structure having agiven standard. External information of the DO may be provided from theowner of the DO to the supplier of the space in the virtual world or maybe directly designed using a template provided by a supplier or a presettool. Furthermore, each of the DO and the IO may have a display area(DA) which may be directly controlled by an owner. Content exposed inthe DA may be provided based on a selection of the owner of the DOand/or the IO within a proper range based on a policy between the ownerof the DO and/or the IO and the supplier of the space. The DA mayindividually have an exposure feature (e.g., perspective or a featurefor highlighting regardless of perspective) based on a viewing angle ofan agent and an interaction feature. Furthermore, each IO may haveinteractive features which may be directly controlled by the owner ofthe IO. The IO may provide an interaction suitable for a situation of anagent based on interaction feature activation information of the agent.For example, if a user wears only a head mounted display (HMD), the IOmay provide an operation function having the same form as the DO. Incontrast, if a user has a controller coupled to an HDM, the IP mayprovide an interaction feature (e.g., grabbing or pulling or drawing)with an agent, which is provided in a corresponding space in the virtualworld. For another example, if a user has an additional motionrecognition controller, a corresponding feature may be used for the IO.The DO may have basic control features. Such basic control features mayinclude a basic control function of the space in the virtual world,which is has been set by a supplier. For example, the basic controlfunction may include history setting and/or interest informationsetting.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a schematic form of a virtual spaceconfiguration system 700 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 7, the virtual space configuration system 700 mayinclude a virtual reality (VR) client device 710, a mobile edgecomputing device 720, an edge computing device 730, and a cloudcomputing system 740. Each of the VR client device 710, the mobile edgecomputing device 720, the edge computing device 730, and the cloudcomputing system 740 may be implemented through the computer device 200described with reference to FIG. 2. It can be easily understood that thecloud computing system 740 may be implemented by two or more computerdevices 200.

The VR client device 710 may be a physical device for displaying a spacein a virtual world to a user. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the VR clientdevice 710 may include a rendering machine 711. The rendering machine711 may include a virtual space controller (VSC) 712, a head mountdisplay (HMD) 713, and controllers & sensors 714. The rendering machine711 may display a space in the virtual world on the HMD 713 through theVSC 712. An output value of the controllers & sensors 714 may be used tocontrol the agent of a user in the space in the virtual world and/or tointeract with digital objects deployed in the space in the virtualworld.

In some embodiments, the VSC 712 may not be directly included in the VRclient device 710 or the rendering machine 711, but may be included inthe mobile edge computing device 720 or the edge computing device 730.For example, if the VR client device 710 of a user is a device capableof directly rendering a space in a virtual world, the space in thevirtual world may be rendered using the VSC 712 of the VR client device710. In contrast, if the VR client device 710 of a user cannot directlyrender a space in a virtual world, the VR client device 710 may renderthe space in the virtual world through the VSC 721 of the mobile edgecomputing device 720 wirelessly connected to the VR client device 710through an access point 722 or through the VSC 731 of the edge computingdevice 730 connected to the VR client device 710 in a wired manner, andmay display the rendered space on the HMD 713. If both the mobile edgecomputing device 720 and the edge computing device 730 are notsupported, as will be described later, the space in the virtual worldmay be rendered using a VSC farm 742 included in the cloud computingsystem 740. The VSC farm 742 may generate an instance of a VSC for auser, and may support that the user displays a rendered space in avirtual world on the HMD 713. In this case, the VSCs 712, 721 and 731may be VSC instances that are generated and provided through the VSCfarm 742 by the cloud computing system 740.

The VSCs 712, 721 and 731 may render a space in a virtual world so thatcontent delivered in relation to the display area of a digital object isdisplayed in the space in the virtual world for an agent. The cloudcomputing system 740 that configures a space in a virtual world andprovides services may generate the VSCs 712, 721 and 731 for the VRclient device 710 of a user corresponding to an agent. The VSCs 712, 721and 731 may be launched into at least one of the VR client device 710,the mobile edge computing device 720, the edge computing device 730 orthe cloud computing system 740, and may support the rendering of a spacein a virtual world for the VR client device 710.

The VR client device 710 may be directly connected to the cloudcomputing system 740 or connected to the cloud computing system 740through the mobile edge computing device 720 or the edge computingdevice 730, and may be supplied with services related to a space in avirtual world.

The cloud computing system 740 may be a system of a service provider forconfiguring a space in a virtual world and providing a user withservices related to the space in the virtual world. As illustrated inFIG. 7, the cloud computing system 740 may include a virtual spacemanagement system 741 and a VSC farm 742. The VSC farm 742 may beimplemented in a form included in the virtual space management system741. The virtual space management system 741 more specifically describedwith reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of internal elementsof the virtual space management system 741 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the virtual spacemanagement system 741 according to the present embodiment may include aclient interface (I/F) 810, an agent tracking management module 820, anagent information management module 830, a virtual world informationmanagement module 840, a real-time content control module 850, aphysical world interface module 860, and a VSC farm 742. The elements ofthe virtual space management system 741 may be functional expressions ofthe processor 220 included in at least one computer device 200 thatimplements the cloud computing system 740.

The client I/F 810 may provide a user interface for the VR client device710. For example, the client I/F 810 may provide various user interfacesthrough which a user can interact with a space in a virtual world in aprocess in which the user is provided with services for the space in thevirtual world, which is provided by the cloud computing system 740,using the VR client device 710.

The agent tracking management module 820 may track an agent deployed andmoved in a space in a virtual world. Information obtained as the agentis tracked may be stored in a tracking database (DB) in real time inassociated with the identifier (ID) of the agent. Tracking historyinformation for the agent may be stored in a tracking history DB inassociation with the ID of the agent.

The agent information management module 830 may store the profile of anagent and the consent of the agent. For example, the agent informationmanagement module 830 may store the profile of the agent in an agentprofile DB in association with the ID of the agent, and may store theconsent contents of the agent in an agent consent DB in association withthe ID of the agent. In this case, the consent may include personalinformation and consent to privacy & terms.

The virtual world information management module 840 may manageinformation on a space in a virtual world. For example, the virtualworld information management module 840 may store information on thepolicy of the space in the virtual world, virtual map information,information on the location of the space in the virtual world (e.g., GPSinformation for the space in the virtual world), information on digitalobjects deployed in the space in the virtual world, etc., and mayprovide corresponding information in response to a request from anothermodule.

The real-time content control module 850 may select content to bedisplayed in a space in a virtual world. For example, the real-timecontent control module 850 may select content to be displayed in thedisplay area of a digital object, which is configured within the spacein the virtual world. To this end, the real-time content control module850 may include a function for content bidding and a function forselecting content to be displayed. For example, the real-time contentcontrol module 850 may select content to be displayed in a display areabased on the bidding of a third party display content provider 870.

The physical world interface module 860 may provide a function forcontrolling a physical resource and an interface for physical resources.

As described above, the VSC farm 742 may generate, provide and manage aninstance of the VSC in order to help the rendering of the VR clientdevice 710.

The virtual space management system 741 may receive HMD information andcontrol/sensor information from the VR client device 710. The HMDinformation may include device motion tracking information of degrees offreedom (3-DoF) or 6-DoF. The device motion tracking information mayinclude motion tracking information for the VR client device 710.Furthermore, the HMD information may include user information from theVR client device 710. For example, the user information may include therotation of the head of a user, a motion of the body of the user, andeye-gaze information of the user. Furthermore, the HMD information mayinclude rendering-related information, such as rendering delay ortemperature. Control/sensor information may include information on amotion of the body of a user or real-time controller information, suchas a key event or a movement.

A detailed embodiment of a method and system for providing web contentin a VR environment is described below.

In the VR environment, users consume contents on the web individually orseveral users consume content on the web simultaneously. In this case,there is a need for a method for using the content in the form of anindividual object not a concept of a window.

The web object (WO) 513 or 671 may be an object having a form in whichcontent on the web is exposed through a space in a virtual world. The WOis an object which may be classified based on the existing web content,and may be configured with text, an image, and playable content (e.g.,video or audio).

A tag breakpoint for an individual object unit may be used forclassification criteria for the WO. An individual object may beclassified based on a style, such as <div>, or a HTML tag, such as<img>, <video>, or <table>.

A tag corresponding to an individual object has a tangiblecharacteristic, and may use a basic interface (e.g., object area)provided in VR services or a third party tangible characteristicintended by a content producer. A control interface or an interfacebased on an output or playback may be provided depending oncharacteristics of each object for each object.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of web content 900, such as contentwritten as a HTML tag.

The web content 900 may be classified as an individual object using a<div> tag. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the web content 900 may include auser input object 901, an input button object 902, and a hyperlink 903classified based on a criterion <tag>, and may include a content object904 classified based on a criterion <div id> or <class>.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process ofrecognizing a tangible object for web content according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. The process of recognizing a tangible objectaccording to the present embodiment may be performed by the computerdevice 200 that implements a device capable of rendering a space in avirtual world (corresponding to the VR client device 710, the mobileedge computing device 720 or the edge computing device 730 describedwith reference to FIG. 7).

At step 1010, the computer device 200 loads, from a publisher (e.g., theservers 150 and 160), web content to be exposed through a VR space.

At step 1020, the computer device 200 selects an object having atangible characteristic, that is, a tangible object, by parsing the webcontent loaded at step 1010.

Referring to FIG. 11, the computer device 200 may select an individualobject to be recognized as a tangible object 1101 to 1105 based on a<div> tag by parsing web content 1100. If <tag> for a user input, suchas the user input object 901 or the input button object 902, iscontiguously present within a neighbor area, the contiguous objects maybe grouped into a single tangible object 1101 using the <div> tag, thatis, a higher classification criterion.

At step 1030, the computer device 200 generates area information, whichmay correspond to a user input, for each tangible object selected atstep 1020 with respect to the web content loaded at step 1010. In otherwords, the computer device 200 separately generates area information forthe user input to the tangible object, that is, area informationcorresponding to each tangible object included in the web content.

At step 1040, the computer device 200 may apply visual highlighting tothe tangible object in exposing the web content loaded at step 1010through a VR space. The computer device 200 may highlight an area,generated for each tangible object, as an individual object area.

The computer device 200 may recognize the tangible object within the webcontent in a process of rendering the web content in the VR space, andmay display an area for the user input, generated for each tangibleobject, by visually highlighting the tangible object.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example a focusing movementprocess on a tangible object according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The focusing movement process according to the presentembodiment may be performed by the computer device 200 that implements adevice capable of rendering a space in a virtual world (corresponding tothe VR client device 710, the mobile edge computing device 720 or theedge computing device 730 described with reference to FIG. 7).

The computer device 200 may provide a user input environment for webcontent rendered on a VR space. If an element through which a user'sinput can be received, such as an input, text, or a select tag, ispresent in a tangible object, a focusing motion technology on thetangible object is necessary.

At step 1210, the computer device 200 receives an input focus throughthe input means of a user with respect to web content rendered on a VRspace. The computer device 200 may recognize a location of the webcontent, which is focused by the user, as the input focus of the user.

At step 1220, the computer device 200 determines whether the input focusof the user is located within a tangible object area of the web content.The computer device 200 may recognize on which tangible object the userfocuses within the web content rendered on the VR space.

At step 1230, if the input focus of the user deviates from the tangibleobject area, the computer device 200 may process the corresponding inputfocus as a response to a screen of common web content.

At step 1240, if the input focus of the user is located within thetangible object area, the computer device 200 may visually highlight thetangible object area where the corresponding input focus is located sothat the tangible object area is different from another tangible object.

At step 1250, the computer device 200 may move a focus to a locationwhere the input window of a corresponding tangible object is locatedthrough auto-focusing as the input of the user for the input focus ismoved within the tangible object area where the input focus of the useris located.

Referring to FIG. 13, if the input focus 1310 of a user for web content1100 rendered on a VR space is located on any one tangible object 1101,the computer device 200 may highlight the area of the tangible object1101 so that the tangible object 1101 is distinguished from othertangible objects 1102 to 1105.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the computer device 200 may move afocus 1420, such as a cursor, to a location corresponding to the inputfocus 1310 of a user within an input window of a tangible object 1101through an auto-focusing method in response to a movement of the inputfocus 1310 of the user.

If plural elements through which a user input, such as an input, text,or a select tag, can be received are present within a tangible objectarea, auto-focusing may be performed based on an individual objectsequence on a code and an individual object location on cascading stylesheets (CSS).

In order to determine the sequence of the auto-focusing for the inputfocus of a user at timing at which content is produced, a separatemetadata tag may be used. The metadata tag may designate the priority ofan input in an integer value form or describe the priority of the inputas relative information, with respect to a tag capable of a user inputfor each <div> tag or <class> tag.

Furthermore, if a user's input is necessary on a tangible object, anadditional function for a user input method may be provided because auser input method, such as using a keyboard, is inconvenient in a VRenvironment.

The computer device 200 may use a system provision method, such as avirtual keyboard, as a basic input method. The computer device 200 mayuse a voice input method or a brainwave input method in addition to thevirtual keyboard. In some embodiments, if the computer device 200operates in conjunction with a third party device, an input method usinga third party input tool may also be used.

If content provided through a VR environment is segmented, that is,objectified, in a user client stage environment, a publisher whoprovides web content may be deprived of the opportunity to expose adesired publication format or additional content (e.g., advertising).

Accordingly, the publisher may provide a method for selectivelyrejecting content from being objectified or sequentially exposingrelated content. The publisher may previously present whether to supportsegmentation by providing information on a content exposure method onHTML, such as <vr rendering-option=“segment”>, <vrrendering-option=“no_segment”>.

Furthermore, the publisher may also plan and provide, in an object unit,requirements for a publication format, a content exposure method, andadditional content for content which may be objectified.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present disclosure,content on the web in a virtual reality environment can be provided inan individual object form not a concept of a window.

The aforementioned apparatus may be implemented in the form of ahardware component, a software component or a combination of a hardwarecomponent and a software component. For example, the apparatus andcomponents described in the embodiments may be implemented using one ormore general-purpose computers or special-purpose computers, like aprocessor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digitalsignal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array(FPGA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor or any otherdevice capable of executing or responding to an instruction. Theprocessor may perform an operating system (OS) and one or more softwareapplications executed on the OS. Furthermore, the processor may access,store, manipulate, process and generate data in response to theexecution of software. For convenience of understanding, one processingdevice has been illustrated as being used, but a person having ordinaryskill in the art may understand that the processor may include aplurality of processing elements and/or a plurality of types ofprocessing elements. For example, the processor may include a pluralityof processors or a single processor and a single controller.Furthermore, a different processing configuration, such as a parallelprocessor, is also possible.

Software may include a computer program, code, an instruction or acombination of one or more of them and may configure a processor so thatit operates as desired or may instruct the processor independently orcollectively. The software and/or data may be embodied in a machine,component, physical device, virtual equipment or computer storage mediumor device of any type in order to be interpreted by the processor or toprovide an instruction or data to the processor. The software may bedistributed to computer systems connected over a network and may bestored or executed in a distributed manner. The software and data may bestored in one or more computer-readable recording media.

The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form ofa program instruction executable by various computer means and stored ina computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recordingmedium may include a program instruction, a data file, and a datastructure solely or in combination. The medium may continue to store aprogram executable by a computer or may temporarily store the programfor execution or download. Furthermore, the medium may be variousrecording means or storage means of a form in which one or a pluralityof pieces of hardware has been combined. The medium is not limited to amedium directly connected to a computer system, but may be onedistributed over a network. An example of the medium may be oneconfigured to store program instructions, including magnetic media suchas a hard disk, a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, optical media such asCD-ROM and a DVD, magneto-optical media such as a floptical disk, ROM,RAM, and flash memory. Furthermore, other examples of the medium mayinclude an app store in which apps are distributed, a site in whichother various pieces of software are supplied or distributed, andrecording media and/or store media managed in a server.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described inconnection with the limited embodiments and the drawings, those skilledin the art may modify and change the embodiments in various ways fromthe description. For example, proper results may be achieved althoughthe aforementioned descriptions are performed in order different fromthat of the described method and/or the aforementioned elements, such asthe system, configuration, device, and circuit, are coupled or combinedin a form different from that of the described method or replaced orsubstituted with other elements or equivalents.

Accordingly, other implementations, other embodiments, and theequivalents of the claims belong to the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a computer device,comprising: rendering, by at least one processor included in thecomputer device, web content loaded from a publisher on a virtualreality (VR) space, wherein the rendering the web content comprises:selecting an object, having a tangible characteristic and including aplurality of elements configured to receive user input in the webcontent, wherein selecting the object comprises selecting the objectusing a tag breakpoint for an individual object unit; displaying an areafor a user input as an area corresponding to the object; and providing,by the at least one processor, a focusing movement function within thearea corresponding to the object, wherein the providing the focusingmovement function comprises: moving focus of the user in response to amovement of the input focus of the user, and auto-focusing one of theplurality of elements based on at least one predetermined metadata tagdefining priorities of the plurality of elements to be auto-focused. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the object furthercomprises grouping objects related to the user input into a singleobject when the objects are contiguously present within neighbor areas.3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the area comprises:generating area information for the user input for the object; andhighlighting the area corresponding to the object based on the areainformation.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing thefocusing movement function further comprises highlighting the objectwhere an input focus of the user is located among a plurality ofobjects.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the focusingmovement function further comprises performing auto-focusing based on anindividual object sequence on a code or an individual object location oncascading style sheets (CSS).
 6. A non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium in which a computer program for executing the methodaccording to claim 1 in a computer device is written.
 7. A computerdevice comprising: memory storing computer-readable instructions: atleast one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured toexecute the computer-readable instructions to: render web content loadedfrom a publisher on a virtual reality (VR) space, select an object,having a tangible characteristic and including a plurality of elementsconfigured to receive user input in the web content, wherein the atleast one processor selects the object using a tag breakpoint for anindividual object unit; cause a displaying of an area for a user inputas an area corresponding to the object; and provide a focusing movementfunction within the area corresponding to the object wherein theproviding the focusing movement function comprises: moving focus of theuser in response to a movement of the input focus of the user, andauto-focusing one of the plurality of elements based on at least onepredetermined metadata tag defining priorities of the plurality ofelements to be auto-focused.
 8. The computer device of claim 7, whereinthe at least one processor groups objects related to the user input intoa single object when the objects are contiguously present withinneighbor areas.
 9. The computer device of claim 7, wherein the at leastone processor: generates area information for the user input for theobject, and highlights the area corresponding to the object based on thearea information.
 10. The computer device of claim 7, wherein the atleast one processor, performs further auto-focusing based on anindividual object sequence on a code or an individual object location oncascading style sheets (CSS).